“As I said, I’m no bluenose. I’m prepared to be reasonable.”
“Mr. Vane, I’ve been completely candid with you. Surely you owe me the same consideration. If you wish to blackmail me, why don’t you say so?”
“Call it what you like. Whatever you call it. I know a good thing when I see it.”
“Precisely, Mr. Vane, how do you see it?”
“I see you in a trap, that’s how.”
“Quite so. A just observation. I can either pay or go to prison.”
“Not only that. Your wives would be a little upset by your shenanigans, to say the least. You’d lose them both, and that’s for sure.”
“There you touch me in my most vulnerable spot. The loss of my wives would be the crudest blow of all. I am, you see, a dedicated and loving husband.”
“I’d give a pretty penny to know how you’ve been fooling them all this time.”
“Secrets, Mr. Vane, secrets. As you said a while ago, you may ask, which is not to say I’ll answer.”
“It’s not important. What’s important is that you stand to lose them.”
“A disaster, I admit, which I should prefer to avoid at any cost. Which brings us, I believe, to another crucial point. What, Mr. Vane, will be the cost?”
“Well, I don’t want to be greedy, but at the same time I don’t want to give anything away. Besides, that weekend wife of yours is rich. You said so yourself.”
“A tactical error, perhaps. Having gone so far, however, I’ll go even farther. Angela is not only rich; she is exceedingly generous and quite incurious as to how I spend her money.”
“In that case, how does twenty-five grand sound?”
“To Rudolph La Roche, like far too much. To Roger Le Rambeau, fair enough.”
“Roger Le Rambeau’s who I’m talking to.”
“As Roger Le Rambeau, I’ll consider it.”
“What’s to consider? You pay or else.”
“Of course. That’s abundantly clear, I think. However, you must realize that I am dependent upon Angela for such an amount. In any event, I couldn’t pay until I’ve had an opportunity next weekend to make proper arrangements.”
“You think she may kick up rough about shelling out that much?” Gaspar’s brow furrowed.
“No, no. I anticipate no difficulty with Angela.”
“Just the same, you’d better think up a good reason.”
“You can safely leave that in my hands. As a matter of fact, I’ve established a reputation with Angela for being lucky. She has profited more from certain wagers of mine, wins and losses taken together, than this will cost.”
“I’ll want cash. No check.”
“I must say, Mr. Vane, that you’re a strange mixture of professional acumen and amateur naïveté. Whoever heard of paying a blackmailer by check?”
“I just wanted it understood, that’s all.”
“I believe I understand the conditions perfectly, Mr. Vane.”
“In that case all that’s left is to arrange the time and place of our next meeting.”
“I see no reason to drag this affair out. I’m sure you’re anxious to have it completed, and so am I. Shall we say next Monday evening?”
“Suits me. Where?”
“Well, the transfer of funds will, perhaps, require a bit more privacy than we have here. I suggest the back room of my shop. I close at five-thirty, as I’ve told you, and my assistant leaves promptly. A quarter to six should be about right. Drive into the alley and knock at the back door. I’ll let you in.”
“No tricks.”
“Please Mr. Vane! What kind of trick could I possibly employ? I’m realist enough to concede that I’ve been found out, and gentleman enough, I hope, to accept the consequences gracefully.”
Rudolph La Roche smiled faintly, slipped out of the booth, and repeated his odd little bow.
“Until Monday, then.”
Turning briskly, his back erect and his head high, he walked to the door and out into the street. Gaspar signaled the waitress and ordered another beer. Somehow, he did not feel as elated as a man should feel when he has hit the jackpot. What color were Rudolph’s eyes, he wondered suddenly. Blue? Green? Whatever the color, they were as cool and pale as a handful of sea water.
* * * *
The alley was a littered brick lane between brick walls. Behind Rudolph’s barber shop there was an indentation which provided enough space in which to park a pair of cars. Rudolph’s car was there when Gaspar pulled his old one up alongside, and the time at that moment was exactly a quarter to six. Gaspar crawled out and banged on the rear door of the shop. He was promptly admitted by Rudolph, who must have been waiting just on the other side. The barber was still wearing his starched white tunic, uniform of his trade, and it gave him an antiseptic look that was somehow disconcerting to Gaspar, who always felt slightly soiled even when he was still dripping from the shower.
“Ah, here you are,” Rudolph said. “Right on time, I see. Come in, come in.”
Gaspar, entering, found himself in a tiny room which had been devised by the simple expedient of erecting a plywood wall toward the rear of the original, single room. There was a small table with a bundle of laundry on it. On the same table there was a coffee pot on a hot plate, which was on a square of asbestos, and beside the table were two straight chairs. For an instant Gaspar felt trapped and vulnerable, and a wave of panic swept over him. But the panic receded quickly to leave him with no more than a vague feeling of uneasiness.
“Sit down, Mr. Vane,” Rudolph said, indicating one of the straight chairs. “Shall I make coffee?”
“Not for me,” said Gaspar.
“Very well, then.” Seated sidewise to the table in the second chair, Rudolph leaned an elbow upon it and stared at Gaspar. “Shall we come down to business at once?”
“If you’ve got the money, let’s do.”
“Oh, I have the money, I assure
